PM Narendra Modi says Indian economy unaffected by global downturn

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that India was the only economy which had not been affected by the global economic downturn.

He hailed the policies being implemented by his government calling it a reason for why Indian economy had remained unaffected by the gloomy economic situation abroad.

Addressing a function organised to mark the 140th birth anniversary of social reformer Dayanand Saraswati, Modi said “Everyone is saying this… the World Bank, the IMF. The world is going through an economic crisis, but it is India alone that is progressing at a rapid pace. This is a unique situation when the whole world is slipping and India is growing.”

PTI quoted him as saying, “People across the world are saying that the steps taken by the government (have led to) India becoming the fastest growing economy among the larger economies of the world.”

He added, “One thing can free us from our problems, from poverty, from lack of education and that is development. Over two crore people have benefited through MUDRA Yojana and over Rs one lakh crore has been disbursed to them.

Repeated what he had said the launch of Make In India week in Mumbai on Saturday, he said that 60 per cent of India’s population was below 35 years of age adding that India was the youngest nation in the world.

He said, “The government’s focus is on how to convert the power of the youth which can used for development of the nation. Therefore, we not only launched a skill development programme for the youth but also created a new ministry, with its own budget and a set of officers to take the programme forward.”